SMART Goals: For Getting It Done
Ever make a goal and fail to stick the landing? It happens. To all of us. Alot. Unfortunately, we often beat ourselves up about it and say a lot of hurtful things to ourselves. It’s easier to assume we are a failure than acknowledge the goal itself may have been pretty suspect to begin with. Learning how to make our goals SMART will save a lot of time and effort. The name comes from the acronym; Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Bound.
Too Vague or Too Big
Ever make a sweeping statement such as, “This year I will insert massive life goal here.” Does that sound like a plan? To me, it sounds more like a set up for disappointment. Learning how to set goals that work for you is a step toward being able to meet them.
Setting up goals that have no clear payoff or a payoff that is really far away is not likely to help you build a new habit. One strategy for building goals that are more likely to work is to use the SMART goal acronym.
Making It Smart
Saying, “I’m going to lose weight this year!” is vague and not very fulfilling. It takes too long to get to the finish line and there are so many fast food joints on the way. Instead, let’s practice turning this into a SMART goal with an assumption that up until now you do not have any experience or habits around exercise.
Specific: Exactly what are you going to do.
Measurable: Make the goal measurable so you know if you did or did not accomplish it. Words like 'more or 'less' are too vague.
Attainable: Do I have everything I need (resources) like money, materials, and time to meet this goal? Also, how likely are you going to actually do this? You could use a rating scale of 0-10 with 10 being 'Definitely.'
Relevant: How is this goal relevant to my values? How will this help me behave like the person I want to be?
Time Bound: Goals need a due date for us to be accountable. At our time boundary we either get to celebrate our success or use this chance to revise our goal. We may have made our first SMART goal too ambitious (often the case) or are ready to set a new goal.
Note About the Acronym
Sometimes you'll find other words swapped for the letters in the SMART acronym. Attainable may turn into Adaptable. Measurable may turn into Motivated by Values. Relevant may turn into Realistic. Usually, in all the versions I've seen the resulting goal still checks all of the boxes of being SMART even if the details of the prompt have changed.
SMART Exercise Example
Specific: I am going to go walking 15 minutes each day for three days a week.
Measurable: I either did or did not walk for 15 minutes on a day.
Attainable: Do I have everything I need (resources) such as shoes and a place to walk? Yes. How likely do I think I'll do this? Maybe 6 out of 10 if 10 is definitely.
Relevant: This helps me reach my overall desire to be more active and become healthier over time. I'm also trying to act on values like Flexible and Adventurous.
Time Bound: I will do this for three out of four weeks this month. I'll check in with myself on the last day of the month.
SMART Self Care Example
Specific: I will drink a cup of tea on my porch at least twice a week.
Measurable: Yes. It's a pass or fail situation.
Attainable: I have tea, a porch, and can get up fifteen minutes earlier to have some time to myself. I'd say 8 out of 10 - if 10 is I definitely will do this.
Relevant: I want to practice taking care of myself more. I'm trying to be more Kind to myself.
Time Bound: This is due Sunday night. I know I can do this by then. If it goes well, I'll set a new goal to do this at least two weeks next month.
Realistic Expectations
New to setting goals like this? Maybe you have a habit of setting impossible goals and feel disappointed when you cannot live up to those impossible standards? Notice how it would not be a SMART goal to say we were going to become couch potatoes who immediately morph into marathon runners? Never expect yourself to start a new habit and keep it 100% of the time. Notice in my examples I did not suggest I would do my new habit every day or even every week in a month.
Give yourself wiggle room and options to score bonus points. It’s not a mistake or failure if it is part of the plan. Start small. Give yourself a leg up. Set bars you know you can jump over, clear that obstacle, and then you can choose to move the bar higher if you want to.
Baby Steps
Baby steps might take longer, but they do get us where we want to go. Taking off at a breakneck speed might seem like a good idea to get something you want faster, but after a few days in you are probably going to be sore and wanting to quit long before getting anywhere. It’s a lot harder to fall flat on our faces when we take baby steps.
Nobody Got Time For That - You Sure?
If you are complaining you don’t have time to take care of yourself - I’ve got news for you. You don’t have time to take care of anyone else either. Your unmet needs affect those you love. When you go to set the goal, be Realistic with your time. Do not forget that your needs are just as important as everyone else's.
Do not forget that your needs are just as important as everyone else's.
Don't Listen to That Guy
It is predictable and expected that your mind will try to convince you not to follow through on your goals. Your mind’s primary objective is to avoid discomfort right now and efforts to build new habits will lead to discomfort because anything new will feel uncomfortable. Planning for the ways your mind will try to convince you to stop (like saying you don’t have time for this) is also important in creating effective SMART goals.
A Helping Hand
Creating SMART goals that work well for you is a skill that can take time to master. It can be helpful to have an unbiased accountability partner, like a counselor, to help you both create and meet your goals. Consider checking out the rest of my website if you're curious about who I work with and how I may be able to help you.
Remember:
SMART goals are about what you can control. You can only control you.
SMART goals are meant to be tailored to you to meet your needs with your behaviors. This harps back to what you can control.
SMART goals can be a powerful tool to focus your thoughts and create a game plan that is easy to track. Goals that are not measurable and time bound tend to get away from us - like so many New Year’s resolutions.
SMART goals can start today.
References
https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/smart-goals/brief-history-of-smart-goals.php
https://cce.bard.edu/files/Setting-Goals.pdf
https://www.actmindfully.com.au/upimages/The_Reality_Slap_-_Appendix_4_-_Goal_Setting.pdf